Zinc-air batteries are considered as the promising alternative to conventional power sources and have received revived research efforts recently due to their high energy density, good safety, environmental friendliness, and potential for low material costs. The design and production of zinc-air batteries is critical to accelerate the commercialization for extending the application range. Herein, we proposed a method for producing plate-type primary zinc-air batteries which apply zinc foil as an example. The proposed method includes the design of an easily assembled zinc-air battery configuration, the preparation of air cathodes and assembly of zinc-air battery. In addition, the galvanostatic discharge performance of the assembled non-flow primary zinc-air battery was tested at a current density of 10 mA cm. The method can be applied for the production of commercial zinc-air batteries for laboratory research and industrial manufacture for electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and energy storage devices.•The preparation method for components of zinc-air battery configuration and air cathodes was developed.•The assembly of the zinc-air battery was proposed.•Direct evaluation of discharge performance of the zinc-air batteries produced by the method.